Thinking Aloud: Industries Being Disrupted by Social Media

I had a great conversation (my tongue is well and truly in my cheek) with somebody trying to sell me “social media services” recently.

“Seb, you want to be at the forefront of the social media consciousness, right?” was one of his lines.

I didn’t buy in, I’m doing ok without paid for help I think, but something he said did make me ponder.

“industries like yours are being disrupted by social media…” – ironic as he was contacting me using old contact data he had for when I owned a record label (long story) – once I told him I’m now “in IT” much of his fizz evaporated, but he was an energetic chap.

I did about this though, how is social media disrupting certain industries? For sure it’s in the enterprise mix now but in a “disruptive context”?

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that certain industries really are being disrupted by social media – those of you that follow my twitter escapades will be aware of how a “campaign” I launched against UK retailer M&S resulted in me successfully winning a warranty claim I was making that previously had been rejected.

In my thinking aloud today I’m realising that any business retail or product oriented is totally in the social media firing line.

Why? Because retail outlets and product companies cant hide behind their corporate facade any longer. Issues go viral, complaints are seen by thousands of people and rapid trend emergence increases the competitive landscape thus forcing them to respond, react and resolve in ways previously unheard of.